Melbourne Floorball League - Rnd 5 2002

The first game saw the undefeated Vikings up against the Stingers. This was the last chance for any team to deny the Vikings bragging rights going into the second half of the season.

The first period saw probably some of the best Floorball that has been played so far this season. Scott Bartel (Vikings) and Shane Jamieson (Stingers) were literally throwing themselves at everything in order to deny a goal. In the end the team went into the first break with the cloest of margins. Stingers 2-1.

The second period saw the Vikings play with a much more structured diamond formation, which paid off. Not only did it allow them to step up their scoring, but it also took some pressure of their goalkeeper. Vikings 5-2. There was also a cheer squad who got involved at the urging of Ville Peltomaki and his fellow Swedish import Kris Coplley when he scored his two goals.

The final period was again a pleasure to watch. It became more of a defensive game for both teams, with the shots on goal greatly restricted for most of the period. This allowed the Vikings to hold on to there lead and finish the first half of the season undefeated, 7-4

Vikings 7
(Hakan Lyngsjo 2g 1a, Kris Coplley 2g 0a, Clinton Teh 2g 0a, Steve Woolcock 1g 0a, Ville Peltomaki 0g 2a, Rebecca Neligan 0g 1a, Kim Snowden 0g 1a, Scott Bartel 0g 1a)

def Stingers 4
(Damien Monckton 1g 0a, David Hammond 1g 0a, Raymond Staindl 1g 0a, David Smith 1g 0a, Warren Mazurek 0g 1a, Gavin Staindl 0g 1a)

The second game saw the match up of the ever-improving Panthers team against the Spartans who were coming off a pretty heavy thrashing last week. The Panthers were desperate for their first win of the season, the Spartans looking for a stabilizing win to put their season back on track.

The game also saw some old faces returning to the MFL. Andrew Cathie (Australian Goalkeeper and founding member of the MFL who has since moved to Perth) played 2 periods for the Panthers. Former Australian player Nathan Mitchell also returned along with the Victoria women’s Rep Bronwyn Needham, both who played for the Spartans.

Unfortunately the returning players did not help the Spartans a great deal. While Nathan did score a solo goal, they had trouble combating the well drilled structure of the under-manned Panthers. Panthers 3-1.

The second period was again a strong period for the Panthers, with Greg Koster coming into his own. The Panthers Captain Matt Mullins also did some good work as he lead his team to an even greater lead. The Spartans were struggling, and the frustration of not being able to emulate their early season form began to show. Panthers 7-1.

The end of the period also saw Andrew Cathie and Mat Benfield departing for the airport so that Andrew could catch his flight back to Perth. The thoughts of all those present went to the person(s) who would be sitting next to him during the 4 hour flight.

The final period saw the Spartans try to salvage some face. Their play was still very erratic, to the point where Spartans captain Will McDade was given 2 mins for not moving away from a free hit that was being taken, which subsequently hit him. The Panthers on the other hand were cool in the circumstances, but could not take advantage of the low Spartan moral and only managed 3 goals for the period. Panther home easily 11-1.

Panthers 10
(Dain Street 3g 1a, Greg Koster 3g 0a, Stuart Quenette 2g 2a, Matt Mullins 2g 1a, Andrew Cathie 0g 1a, John Burt 0g 1a)

def Spartans 1
(Nathan Mitchell 1g 0a Will McDade 0g 0a 2min pen)

The ladder at the half way mark:

The next round is Sunday 24 November 2002. 4.45pm
Vikings Vs Spartans 6.00pm
Aerials Vs Stingers
Panthers are Duty team.

VFA Bi-Election Nominations are being taken for the position of Secretary of the VFA, which will be voted upon on the 1 December. Have your say, it’s you Association.